Outdoor Prep: Style Check From Glen Helen 9

With a little break in the supercross schedule, racers are getting some Outdoor testing in and we caught a few at Glen Helen.

Klinger

3/26/2021 5:56pm

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Vital MX: It's that time of year again! Days are getting longer and supercross rounds are dwindling. That means time to prep for the Nationals. While at Glen Helen shooting some completely separate stories, and doing our own testing, we couldn't help but notice packs of really, really fast guys whipping past us. So, we got a few shots for good measure. What follows is sort of a style check. Meaning, shooting each pro in the same spot as they pass by offers an interesting juxtaposition where you can see each rider's riding style. Obviously, these are the fastest racers in the world and there are no "wrong" ways of riding for these guys. We are just like you, looking for techniques we might be able to implement into our own riding. Enjoy.

This turn is a deep sandy turn with somewhat of a berm outside but it's too soft to get ruts. The lines change every lap. Here we have Austin Forkner exiting the turn with both feet on the pegs, neutral forward/rear body position, and neutral torso.

Aaron Plessinger leans the bike under him more with the leg out for balance. He's tall and always has a hunched posture to keep weight forward.

Cooper Webb is always pretty neutral on the bike. He's never leaning way to the side or out of sorts. Here he has a little counter-steer out of the turn.

Justin Cooper looking Webb-like with a neutral stance on the bike, though he is a little more upright with his head up, rather than leaned forward.

Malcolm Stewart was flying and instead of turning the bike underneath him like most other riders, he got his weight to the inside and kept the bike more upright. Also, keeping both feet on the pegs to save energy.

Nate Thrasher waited a little later to pivot and banked into the outside exit berm. Twisting the grip got his elbow down, but he's looking far ahead to the rollers up next.

Colt Nichols cut to the middle of the turn using more of a dirt-track slide technique.

Jo Shimoda was flying through the new "roller" section that the pros are jumping through.

The same turn from the other side, Nichols takes the outside pitching the bike beneath him and sitting on the outside of the seat, while Levi Kitchen keeps his body completely parallel to the bike and leans with it.

The next three shots are the same corner. They show three different body position preferences. Cooper is very neutral, sitting in the center of the seat, torso straight up and down, outside leg pushing into the bike and still on the brakes, both front and rear.

Plessinger is a little further into the turn so he's off both brakes. You can see he sits farther back on the seat and sort of tucks his tailbone in and has a much deeper bend in the knee because of his height. Plus his signature style is to get his upper body weight forward by hunching his torso.

Mookie is also tall and has a similar style to Plessinger here. Pelvis tucked and sitting farther back on the seat. But he keeps his torso a little more upright than bent forward.